An hour into Saturday’s Louisville City FC game, the boys in purple had done everything on the attack except score a goal. Then, host Brooklyn FC helped LouCity over the line.
Ray Serrano intercepted a pass in Brooklyn’s half, dribbled around a defender and sent a cross off Brooklyn’s Thomas Vancaeyezeele that deflected in for an own goal.
It was the decisive moment in a 1-0 Louisville victory at Maimonides Park, where City improved to 4-0 — matching its best-ever start to a season. LouCity also on Saturday became the first club in USL Championship history to reach 200 regular season wins.
“I’m really proud of the grind and the grit that the players showed,” said LouCity’s interim head coach, Simon Bird. “That’s exactly what we asked for — that we come here, we get a clean sheet, we defend like champions, and we take home three points.”
Four weekends into a new season, LouCity is one of only two teams in the Championship — along with the Tampa Bay Rowdies — to not yet drop a point. But this time, a Louisville team averaging more than three goals per game entering Saturday found a different way to win.
City pelted Brooklyn with 13 shots, 5 of them landing on target. That included a driven Jansen Wilson shot just 30 seconds into play and, later, a Serrano header wrangled by the Brooklyn keeper.
“The goal was obviously fortunate from a sense that it was a deflection,” Bird said, “but I think the work that players put in and the opportunities prior to that we created, it was deserved.”
“We knew it was going to be a tough place to come and play,” added Serrano, citing a narrow pitch in a purpose-built baseball stadium. “We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty the whole game, but a 1-0 win, we’ll take it. We spoke about it before the game. Whatever the score is, as long as we come out with the three points, that’s all that matters.”
Defensively, the boys in purple didn’t require a save from goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux until the 73rd minute. A set piece recycled into the box created a nervy moment, but Fauroux dove to his right to parry away one chance, then cleared the ensuing corner kick.
Bird made all five of his subs after the 80th minute, and LouCity picked up a trio of yellow cards as the boys in purple salted away the remaining time.
“Difficult conditions for sure definitely effect how we approach the game,” said midfielder Taylor Davila. “I thought we executed the game plan. I thought we battled out there, which these places kind of call for. Obviously room to improve in some areas, and we’re going to work on those, but it’s nice to get a 1-0 win.”
This marked City’s first meeting with Brooklyn, an expansion side that won its opener but has since dropped four straight matches. Maimonides Park presents a unique backdrop, located on Coney Island’s famous boardwalk.
Bird — in his second league game in charge since the departure of former head coach Danny Cruz — made just one lineup change Saturday. Sam Gleadle started with young center back Brandon Dayes on international duty with the United States U-18 National Team.
LouCity’s late subs included the 2026 debut of Amadou Dia, who came on in the 86th minute to complete a return from a preseason hamstring pull.
From here, City turns attention back to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and a midweek trip to play rival Lexington SC. On the weekend, the boys in purple will be back home to host the Charleston Battery in league play.
Game Summary: Brooklyn FC vs. Louisville City FC
Date: March 28, 2026
Venue: Maimonides Park
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: 43 degrees, mostly clear
Scoring
Brooklyn FC (0, 0, 0)
Louisville City FC (1, 0, 1)
Goals
Louisville City FC:
60’ Thomas Vancaeyezeele (own goal)
Lineups
Brooklyn FC: 1 – Jackson Lee; 13 – So Nishikawa (64’ 3 – Gabriel Alcides Alves), 5 – Malik Pinto (78’ 27 – Peter Mangione), 6 – Vuk Latinovich, 92 – Thomas Vancaeyezeele, 95 – Abdoulaye Kante (57’ 19 – Stefan Stojanovic), 86 – Taimu Okiyoshi, 35 – Markus Anderson, 56 – CJ Olney Jr. (78’ 7 – Tommy McNamara), 23 – Ryan McLaughlin, 29 – Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. (78’ 9 – Shaan Hundal)
Subs not used: 30 – Lukas Burns; 24 – Callum Frogson
Head coach: Marlon LeBlanc
Louisville City FC: 1 – Hugo Fauroux; 23 – Sam Gleadle, 3 – Jake Morris, 32 – Kyle Adams, 4 – Sean Totsch, 15 – Manny Perez (86’ 13 – Amadou Dia), 8 – Taylor Davila, 6 – Zach Duncan (81’ 19 – Babacar Niang), 7 – Ray Serrano (90+1’ 47 – Mukwelle Akale), 25 – Jansen Wilson (90+1’ 27 – Evan Davila), 9 – Chris Donovan (86’ 14 – Tola Showunmi)
Subs not used: 30 – Ryan Troutman; 16 – Carlos Moguel Jr., 97 – Thomas Weinrich
Head coach: Simon Bird
Stats Summary: Brooklyn FC / Louisville City FC
Shots: 8 / 13
Shots on Goal: 3 / 5
Expected goals: 1.02 / 1.03
Possession: 54.1% / 45.9%
Fouls: 8 / 16
Offside: 3 / 0
Corner Kicks: 4 / 9
Discipline Summary
Brooklyn FC:
28’ Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. (yellow)
43’ Vuk Latinovich (yellow)
Louisville City FC:
55’ Jansen Wilson (yellow)
74’ Manny Perez (yellow)
80’ Chris Donovan (yellow)
90’ Sean Totsch (yellow)
90+3’ Taylor Davila (yellow)
Referee: Benjamin Meyer
